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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22623598">Other Worlds: Execute Rescue Protocol</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostlybirds/pseuds/ghostlybirds'>ghostlybirds</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Other Worlds - Side Stories [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work, Starbound (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Aliens, Alternative Perspective, Computer Programming, F/M, First Aid, Gen, Minor Injuries, Outer Space, Science Fiction, Slice of Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 08:47:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,093</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22623598</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostlybirds/pseuds/ghostlybirds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Android and ship engineer Rinzler boots up after charging his unit to find his crewmate and fellow engineer human, io, missing from the Engineering wing. The android investigates the ship to find out where she went and what happened while he was offline.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Other Worlds - Side Stories [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627648</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Other Worlds: Execute Rescue Protocol</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>______________________________________</p><p>
  <b>Initializing bootup…</b>
</p><p>
  <b>CRUSADER UNIT RN-ZR: ONLINE, POWER 78%</b>
</p><p>
  <b>SYSTEM OPERATIONS TEST: … 25%... 50%... 75%... TEST COMPLETE. RUNNING OPERATING PROGRAMS.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>RN-ZR AI PROGRAM TEST: … 25%... 50%... 70%... ERROR OCCURRED, BRANCHING PROGRAMS TO LOCATE FAILURE.</b>
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b>HARVESTING PROTOCOL: … 50%... 100%.</b><b></b>
</li>
<li>
<b>COMBAT SYSTEMS: … 25%... 50%... 75%... 100%. AMMUNITION EMPTY.</b>
</li>
<li><b>CRUSADER PROTOCOL: … 10%... ERROR. CRITICAL ERROR. SYSTEM SHUTDOWN</b></li>
</ul><p>
  <em> Uh… no. That's not happening. </em>
</p><p><b>Running AI Morality Program… 25%... 50%... 75%... Program loaded. </b> <em> Let's try that again. </em></p>
<ul>
<li><b>CRUSADER PROTOCOL: … 25%... 50%... 75%... 100%. CRUSADER PROTOCOL DESIGNATED. RUNNING MORALITY PROGRAM TO LOCK PUNITIVE ACTIONS.</b></li>
</ul><p>
  <em> There we go. Good to see you're working with me now. </em>
</p><p>
  <b>TESTING VISOR VISUALIZER.</b>
</p><p>______________________________________</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The visor of the android glows with a vast array of lights, cycling from white, to pink and red, and going around the color wheel and hues before dying out back to the default black. His arm extends to the back, unplugging cords connecting to his charging ports. A three-fourth's charge seemed well enough for a while; at least a week's worth before he'd need to resupply from the ship's power core. Rinzler checked his internal clock: it'd been approximately 3 on ship hours since he'd been last shut off. </p><p>Rinzler recalled the last few moments before he powered down for charging. io talked to him about taking over while he was off, and while he joked about her practically being on call for hours, it was a necessary evil. He'd worked for her while she was sick, so it was nothing new. Once ready, the android walked from his charging station to the engineering wing of the station, alone in the hallways.</p><p>It was unusual to hear the ship so quiet. Perhaps everyone was asleep, or they were focused on their roles, but by now Garrett would crack a joke or Hanzo would call for food through the speaker system. The android's footsteps echoed down the halls before the gentle hum of machinery and electronics joined in. When he approached the door to Engineering, it was… empty. Everything looked to be running nominally, but his human companion was nowhere to be seen. "Hmm… where are you, io?" </p><p>Rinzler walked out of the Engineering wing and made his way to the rooms. All of them were unlocked and unoccupied, giving off the typical blue holographic glow. His theory about everyone being asleep was wrong… maybe they were all eating? He wandered down the hall of sleeping quarters, his black android body saturated by the purples and blues of deep space. He made his way to the cafeteria and rec room-- not a soul. With this, Rinzler’s processor felt like it was flying through options at a lightning pace. Where was everyone? Had they somehow left the ship in an emergency? A quick scan still showed that the hull still contained oxygen, and the temperature was still nominal for biotic creatures. The android moved at a quicker pace to the helm of the ship: at the very least, Garrett wouldn’t leave his position as pilot to anyone but himself.</p><p>"Where is she??" The familiar voice of the ship's closest "commanding officer", Chico, rings out as soon as the sliding doors open when they detect the android's movements. The tone of the room is almost full of panic as they check the cameras to the hull of the spaceship. Each spot is empty as they switch from one cam to the other. "No, no, no…" Garrett says to himself in a panic, and Lana stands right next to the door, worry plastered on her body language.</p><p>Immediately, Rinzler springs to action. A question mark and exclamation point flashes on his headpiece, before speaking: "What's happening?"</p><p>Chico jumps at the sound of his crewmate behind him, turning to face him. "R-RINZLER! Oh, thank goodness. i-io went outside of the ship to do some repairs on the hull; w-we were experiencing some electrical issues after we passed through a neighboring planet's ring. She was talking to us before communications with her went down. She's out there, and we can't find her!" The bird returns to looking for the last spot they saw electrical current errors and the spots that io were repairing, before pointing to one of the panels in the kitchen wing. "That's where we last saw her, but she's not showing up on camera!!"</p><p>The android clenches his fists, and points to the minkey piloting. "Keep looking. I'm going out there." He begins a sprint out the helm of the ship, the doors sliding aside just as fast as he was out of there.</p><p>
  <em> Open comms to the helm. </em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Connected.</b></li>
</ul><p>"I'll tell you when to open the airlock." Rinzler speaks through the connection, filling the pilot's seat. He dashes through the rec room and to the bridge, making calculated actions in near seconds. He sets up his tether anchor for the airlock, presses the button to open and then shut the door to the airlock's room.</p><p>
  <em> Check stored oxygen levels.  </em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Stored oxygen at 46%. Vacuum room of remaining oxygen?</b></li>
</ul><p>He locks the ship's entrance to make his decision, before referring to his processor.</p><p>
  <em> Do it. </em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Removing oxygen from room.</b></li>
</ul><p>The only sound that remains in the airlock is the hissing of his unit removing the air from inside the airlock, and then he speaks over communications. "Now. Let me outside."</p><p>"Got it." Garrett says to Rinzler and shortly after, the door slides open, sucking all of the gravity and everything outside of the oxygen the android took out into the void of space. His visor lights up in a bright white, acting like a large, head-sized flashlight as he floats. He tugs on the anchor, making sure that it wasn't going to rip right off as soon as he got far enough away from the airlock. </p><p>
  <em> Activate pressurized oxygen in back vents, 60 psi. </em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Initializing request.</b></li>
</ul><p>Rinzler's vents in the back of his unit release a blast of oxygen, creeping him outside the airlock and into the void of space. It'd be tranquil if it weren't for the fact that he was out here saving a life. <em> Her </em> life. The android would need to act fast, but if he wasn't careful, the anchor could come loose. </p><p>Rinzler drifts out to the outer wall of the ship, attempting to get a better view of it now that he didn't need to rely on cameras. He could see a trail of short-circuiting panels, the flashing lights of the nominal parts, and… after a second of waiting, the hint of an anchor's line. <em> io's.  </em></p><p>
  <em> Increase oxygen release pressure to 100 psi. </em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Initializing. Oxygen levels at 50%.</b></li>
</ul><p>Rinzler whizzed past the ship's shell, stretching his line out as far as he could to get around the obstacles in front of him. He opens the line to the helm, hoping to grasp any information about what happened while he was out. "How long has it been since io went silent?" He asks of his crewmates listening through communications, swimming through the sea of stars. </p><p>"It's been 5 minutes that we lost contact with her, and about 15 since she's been inside." Garrett admits over the radio, still flipping through the cameras to try to find them. Surprise, surprise, there's one screen unaccounted for, resulting in static-- must have been hit. </p><p>"Prepare any medical supplies onboard, she could've gotten a concussion of some sort, or needs air. I have some reserves left over, but I'm focusing on getting us inside." The android responds, and Lana gets right to work, rushing out of the helm and toward her lab to find any first-aid kits available.</p><p>He glides through the void around the ship before coming across io's anchor tether; it jutted outward and around to the other side of the ship, but he still couldn't see where the engineer was… Was this worry gathering in his thoughts? Rinzler needed to stay composed, especially if io's life was in danger-- she'd only have so much oxygen reserves in her suit.</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Oxygen levels at 47%.</b></li>
</ul><p>
  <em> Reduce oxygen release pressure to 60 psi. </em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Initializing...</b></li>
</ul><p>The air pushes at a slower speed and he loops around to the tether, holding his away to keep the two of them from getting tangled up. The android lights his faceplate up with brighter white, taking a good glance at the anchor's line. It flowed in a certain direction to give fluidity to rescues, with arrows pointing to who the anchor was connected to. Rinzler pulled on his to make sure it's length extended outward and not catching on any part of the ship, before making his way down under one of the wings. </p><p>He found her once he got underneath. She was knocked out, but miraculously, her helmet took most of the hit, only buffed lightly. io was still alive, at the very least. The tether was tangled between the broken camera that Garrett didn't have access to, so thankfully she wasn't just held on by the tether itself while the ship's engines were burning. Rinzler cradles her in his arm and untangled the anchor from the broken machinery-- he'd tend to the repairs after getting his fellow crew member to safety.</p><p>"Found her, returning to the nearest airlock." The android spoke over communications, easing both Garrett and Chico's woes. Chico replies back, expressing his relief, "Good to hear. Lana will meet with the two of you to care for io."</p><p>Rinzler makes his slow glide through the dark depths of space to the airlock io had exited through, following the tether's line. It takes a few minutes to circle around the ship, but once they make it back to the right airlock, Rinzler unplug the anchor's end attached to him; he'll go grab it after doing repairs later, but right now, io's safety was his priority. </p><p>The airlock door shuts and the typical re-entry process cycles-- first, air and sound fills the room. Then, sterilization; the sprinkler system goes off, coating both Rinzler's chassis and io's suit in water. Inside the ship, Lana's glow can be seen waiting on the other side of the airlock door. Rinzler looks down at io's unconscious body, still breathing softly. Upon closer investigation, he can see her sleeping face under the golden accents of her suit's secondary colors. The water from the sprinkler system shuts off like at the flip of a switch, and the room fills with heat, in an attempt to kill any harmful substances they may or may not have harbored on their suits. A bit of overkill, but necessary for missions on planets with toxic atmospheres. Once there's not a trace of water on both engineers, the door opens up, and Lana is standing before the two, with a worried expression on her face. </p><p>"She gonna be okay, darlin'???" The gas ball frowns, urgently coming to the two as they enter. She places her hand over io's helmet, investigating carefully where she might've been hurt. </p><p>"I think she was hit in the head, but the helmet took the brunt of the blow." Rinzler says calmly, carefully setting her down. Once io's suit recognizes that there's enough oxygen in her current surroundings, the helmet dissipates, turning transparent and breaking apart into nothing. Her green hair fluffs out now that it's free of the restricting headpiece, and a red, developing bruise can be seen at the top of her forehead. </p><p>Lana takes no second thought to open the first-aid kit, searching for any instant-ice packs to treat the bump on her head. "Thank goodness it was just a lil' bump… y'all had me scared for a sec'!!" She wraps the ice in bandages in lieu of towels once it's activated, and carefully brings it to the human's head. Once contact is made, io stirs, nearly immediately awakening from the sudden pain of her wound.</p><p>"Mmm…. Ow….." The human engineer, moves to go touch her head, and meets Lana's hand. She jumps in shock, taking a moment to realize she's in the ship. "Wh-what… what happened?" Confused, she looks around to see Rinzler kneeling over her, who's got a winking emoticon lighting up over his visor.</p><p>"Morning, sleepyhead. Next time, wake me up before you head out into the empty vacuum of space." Rinzler teases, a gentle chuckle coming from his vocal box.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>______________________________________</p><p>
  <b>CRUSADER UNIT RN-ZR: ONLINE, POWER 70%</b>
</p><p>
  <b>SYSTEM OPERATIONS TEST: … 25%... 50%... 75%... TEST COMPLETE. RUNNING OPERATING PROGRAMS.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>RN-ZR AI PROGRAM TEST: … 25%... 50%... 75%... 80%... ERROR OCCURRED, BRANCHING PROGRAMS TO LOCATE FAILURE.</b>
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b>HARVESTING PROTOCOL: … 50%... 100%.</b><b></b>
</li>
<li>
<b>COMBAT SYSTEMS: … 25%... 50%... 75%... 100%. AMMUNITION EMPTY.</b>
</li>
<li><b>CRUSADER PROTOCOL: … 10%... 25%... ERROR. CRITICAL ERROR. SYSTEM SHUTDOWN….</b></li>
</ul><p>
  <b>______________________________________</b>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!! This piece is part of many other stories: you can read the other side stories under my profile on here, and you can read the main plot here --&gt;(https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540339)</p><p>The story of Other Worlds is written by SyntheticAngel and FullSizeRender/apolitenoob, with myself writing side stories. </p><p>You can find SyntheticAngel on twitter (https://mobile.twitter.com/syntheticcangel?s=09) where she posts art and writing updates to Other Worlds, or her Ao3 profile here (https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyntheticAngel/)</p><p>You can find FullSizeRender/apolitenoob on twitter, where you'll find updates to the main story to Other Worlds as well here (https://mobile.twitter.com/apolitenoob) or read their other works on Ao3 here (https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullSizeRender/) </p><p>My twitter is here (https://mobile.twitter.com/ghostlybirds) where you'll get updates on my pieces, be it Other Worlds or any other pieces I'm working on.</p><p>Have a nice day!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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